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Home , Leah, Leah (sculpture), Rachel, Rachel (sculpture)

Session 4 Marries and Genesis 29:15-30

Worship Theme: works in all situations.

Weaving Faith Into Life: Children will praise God for working through all situations in their lives and find ways to look past disappointments.

Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies

Sing KidsOwn Worship Kit: • “Bigger Than Big!” (track 12) Songs From FaithWeaver, Lesson Videos Let’s Praise • “All His Promises” (Psalm 145:13b) (track 18) DVD: “A of Fun” • “The Plans I Have for You” ( 29:11) (track 21) Classroom Supplies: God! • “God Works for the Good” (Romans 8:28) (track 5) CD player, cake pan, sand, rock, pitcher (about 25 minutes) • “He Is Powerful” (track 16) of water, , TV, DVD player, 3 sheets • “To God Be the Glory” (track 13) of paper • “Those Who Hope” ( 40:31) (track 20)

Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies

No More Tricks Classroom Supplies: Listen to the story and experience how Jacob Bible, bag of cookies, can of vegetables, grocery bag might have felt.

Let’s Learn * In All Situations Classroom Supplies: the Point! Act out life situations, and talk about how God 4 magazine pictures (about 25 minutes) could work through them. Worries Classroom Supplies: Make a flower out of their worries. Tissue paper, scissors, glue, construction paper, green marker

48 KidsOwn Worship • Summer Quarter Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies

Disappointments Classroom Supplies: Experience how disappointed Jacob might have Bag of cookies, can of vegetables felt as they listen to the story.

* Worry KidsOwn Worship Kit: Let’s Learn Use their worries to make fun sculptures. Songs From FaithWeaver: “God Works for the Good” (Romans 8:28) (track 5) the Point! Classroom Supplies: (about 25 minutes) CD player, several magazine pages per child, tape dispenser per 4 kids

* Everything Will Turn Out Great Classroom Supplies: Brainstorm ways good could come out of specific Index cards, marker or pen bad situations.

Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies

The Offering Classroom Supplies: Offer their gifts to God, and thank God for Offering bowl working in all situations.

Called According to His Purpose Classroom Supplies: Give heart stickers and tell each other that , 2 heart stickers per child Let’s Pray! they’re called according to God’s purpose. (about 10 minutes) All Things Work Together KidsOwn Worship Kit: Say prayers of thanksgiving in small groups, and Songs From FaithWeaver: “God Works thank God for taking care of everything they’re for the Good” (Romans 8:28) (track 5) worried about. Classroom Supplies: CD player, Worry Sculptures

* Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together. Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Section 2. Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities.

Session 4 • KidsOwn Worship 49 Bible Background for Leaders Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel Genesis 29:15-30

After fleeing from his brother, , Jacob headed to the So Jacob found himself still working for . Notice land of his ancestors, and there he found his uncle Laban. the last sentence of this passage: “And he worked for Laban welcomed Jacob into his home, and Jacob fell in love Laban another seven years.” Jacob fulfilled his promise. with Rachel. Perhaps this shows some growth in Jacob. Perhaps years No one knows for sure the meaning of Scripture’s of hardship had curbed his deceptive ways—after all, he description of Leah’s eyes as “weak.” Some suggest that could have taken his two wives and run before the second she was nearsighted; others say that her eyes lacked the seven years were up. Perhaps he realized that God was sparkle or fire that was considered a sign of great beauty in teaching him patience and faithfulness through the hard that culture. Still others think the Hebrew word translated times that came into his life. as “weak” could also be translated as “delicate” or “gentle,” Hard times come. How we respond to them may indicating that Leah had some beauty but it paled by influence how God helps us through them. As we trust in comparison to Rachel’s overwhelming beauty. Whatever him, he will never let us down. Leah’s eyes were like, Jacob definitely liked Rachel better! This story raises an interesting question: How could Jacob have slept with Leah without knowing she wasn’t Rachel? Devotion for Leaders Remember that this event happened before the invention of Everyone encounters hardship. What a comfort to electric lights, so it would have been very dark once the weak know that God uses our difficulties to help us grow and lamps were extinguished. Also Leah likely tried to make the make us more like . deception succeed. Finally, Jacob’s senses may have been Weaving Faith Into Your Life: Reread Genesis 29:26-30. dulled by eating and drinking during the wedding feast. How would you feel serving 14 years to earn something Fortunately for Jacob, multiple wives were common in you thought you had been promised? Are you facing a that culture, and Laban agreed to let him take Rachel as his trial or difficulty right now? Your response could change second wife after just one week—providing Jacob worked an outcome and strengthen your faith! If you’re in the for Laban another seven years! midst of hard times, tell your story to someone you trust, and allow that person to encourage you.

50 KidsOwn Worship • Summer Quarter Why We Worship for Leaders Do you remember the joy of discovering for the first time that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28)? Do you remember the dawning of hope and the burst of relief you felt? the love and confidence you gained in the knowledge that someone greater than yourself is in control? Though we struggle with worries, setbacks, and even tragedies, greeting each day with the understanding that God works in all situations gives us the motivation and comfort we often need to carry on with our lives. Children are well acquainted with worries, fears, and disappointments of their own. But what they are not often skilled at is looking beyond their circumstances to see God’s hand in each situation. Through the activities in this worship session, children will find out that God makes everything turn out great in the end. Because of this, God deserves our worship and praise. Use this worship session to help children discover the joy of knowing and praising a God who works in all situations. Easy Prep for Leaders Let’s Praise God! • Place a small pile of sand at one end of a cake pan and a rock at the other end. Lightly spray the sand with a little bit of water if needed to keep it in a pile. Fill a pitcher with water, and set it with the cake pan in the worship area. • You’ll need three pieces of 8½x11 paper. Use one piece to make a paper airplane before class. Test it to make sure it flies a long distance. • Set up a TV and DVD player. Set the Lesson Videos DVD to play “A Day of Fun.” Watch the video at least once before the children arrive. Worry Sculptures—You’ll need 6 to 10 pieces of old magazine pages, scrap paper, or newsprint per child. If you use magazines, it doesn’t matter what’s on the pages as long as it’s not inappropriate for children. Keep extra pages on hand in case you need more during the session. Everything Will Turn Out Great—On index cards, write sentences describing different scenarios that seem negative, such as “Mom and Dad get a divorce,” “A pet dies,” “You get a failing grade in school,” “You’re not invited to a birthday party that all your friends are going to,” “You didn’t study, and the big test is today,” and so on. Put a different scenario on each card. You’ll need one card for each small group of kids—see the activity for more information. Preschool Activities—Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. Let’s Praise God!

Play Songs From FaithWeaver, Summer 2015 as children arrive. Ask some children to stand at the door and welcome everyone who comes into the room. Ask them to smile, shake hands, and say “Welcome!”

Session 4 • KidsOwn Worship 51 When everyone has arrived, welcome kids to children’s .

For additional Today we’re praising God because he works in all situations. If worship songs you’re happy today and things are going great for you, that’s each week, check out the Sing awesome. Let’s praise God for that. Some of you may be having & Praise DVD a hard day. Maybe you had a fight in the car on the way to included with your KidsOwn church. Maybe you forgot to do your chores yesterday, and Worship kit! you’re facing the consequences. But guess what! You can praise God, too, because God is mighty and he can make something good out of your bad situation. That’s because God works in all situations! Let’s worship him now by singing “Bigger Than Big!” Sing “Bigger Than Big!” Track 12 Lyrics are in the back of this book. After the song, have everyone sit. Hold up the cake pan so kids can see its contents.

This rock represents Jesus. The Bible says in Psalm 18:2, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.” God is the one we can depend on. This pile of sand here represents not trusting in God. Hold up the pitcher of water.

This water represents the storms of life. By storms of life, I mean the hard things that happen to us. • What are some “storms of life” or hard things that happen to you or people you know? (My friend’s parents are going through a divorce; my brother is having a hard time living away from home.) Now I want you to imagine that you are standing on either the sand, which represents not trusting in God, or the rock, which represents Jesus. Choose which spot you imagine yourself on. Now watch what happens when the storms hit. Pour the water on the pile of sand, and then pour it on the rock. As you pour, name things the kids said were their storms in life. For example, say, “Here comes the storm of divorce. Here come failing grades in school. Here’s your best friend talking about you behind your back,” and so on.

• What happened to the sand and the rock when the storm came? (The sand went all over the place; the rock didn’t really move.) • How is this like what happens when Jesus is with us? when we don’t have Jesus with us? (When Jesus is with us, we can be strong like the rock; when we don’t have Jesus with us, we have more trouble facing problems.) When things get tough and the storms of life blow, we need Jesus! He holds everything together and makes everything turn out great in the end! I need a volunteer to come and read a special Bible verse about this. 52 KidsOwn Worship • Summer Quarter Have a child read Romans 8:28 aloud. • What does this verse have to do with the storms of life and Jesus being our rock? (Bad things might happen, but Jesus can help us; Jesus can make good things happen from bad problems.) When we love God, he works in all situations in our lives. We have his promise that he’ll turn every bad situation into good in the end. Sometimes we have to wait to see this happen, but he will always do it. Let’s sing “All His Promises.” Sing “All His Promises” (Psalm 145:13b). Track 18 Lyrics are in the back of this book. Great singing, everyone! God is faithful. He is a warrior fighting for us, and, if we’re wise, we’ll build our lives on God, our warrior and our rock! When we build our lives on God and trust him, his plans will make good things happen. God has great plans for everyone who follows him. They’re special plans for each of you—special plans for good things. Let’s praise God for his wonderful plans in our lives. Sing “The Plans I Have for You” (Jeremiah 29:11). Track 21 Lyrics are in the back of this book.

I’m so glad to know that God has great plans for us! He always knows what’s going on. Sometimes we don’t know why things happen, but God does. Let’s watch a video clip that demonstrates this. Show the DVD segment titled “A Day of Fun!” It illustrates how God can make good things come out of bad experiences.

• How does this show us that God works in all situations? (The boys thought their day was ruined, but it got better; God turned their bad day into a way to meet a new friend.) • How does knowing that God knows how things will turn out make you feel? (I know things will be OK; I can trust God with my life; it makes me feel good to know he’s watching out for me.) God promises to work all things out in our lives. Take a minute now to think of things you’re worried about or sad about. Maybe you’re sad about something happening in your life or in the life of someone you know. (Pause.) Now give that thing or that situation to God while we worship him with our next song. Sing “God Works for the Good” (Romans 8:28). Track 5 Lyrics are in the back of this book.

Session 4 • KidsOwn Worship 53 The Bible gives us lots of examples of God rescuing his people from very bad situations. He helped lead his people out of and parted the Red Sea for them. He saved and his family from the flood by telling Noah to build an ark. He made a queen so she’d be able to save God’s people from being killed by evil men. God is able to work in all situations, and he uses his power to take care of us. Let’s praise God for being our mighty Lord. Our next song is “He Is Powerful.” Sing “He Is Powerful.” Track 16 Lyrics are in the back of this book.

Our next song says, “To God be the glory.” • What does it mean to give God glory? (To worship him; to give him credit for all the amazing things he’s done; to respect God for who he is.) • What are some great things God has done? (God created the world; God sent Jesus so we can live in heaven.) Giving God glory means giving him the credit. It means praising him and respecting him for who he is and what he does. Because God is who he is, we need to give him our whole lives, our whole selves, everything we are and ever hope to be. Let’s praise and honor him now by singing “To God Be the Glory.” Sing “To God Be the Glory.” Track 13 Lyrics are in the back of this book.

Choose a volunteer to stand with you. Give him or her a sheet of 8½x11 paper. [Name of child], I want you to throw this sheet of paper as far as you can. Observe where the paper lands. Then choose another volunteer, and give the second volunteer a sheet of paper identical to the first one. [Name of child], I want you to crumple this paper into a ball and throw it as far as you can. Wait while volunteer crumples and throws the paper. That paper went farther than the first sheet of paper. Observe where the crumpled paper lands in relation to the flat one. Then choose a third volunteer, and hold up the paper airplane.

The ball of paper went farther because we changed its shape. I’ve taken the same size paper again, and this time I’ve made it into a paper airplane. [Name of third volunteer], throw the airplane for us. When the plane lands, point out how far it went compared to the other two. Collect all the papers, and set them aside.

54 KidsOwn Worship • Summer Quarter When our paper was given wings, it could go faster and farther than when it was flat or crumpled up. Life is like that. Hold up the flat sheet of paper. We might be flattened by hard times. Hold up the crumpled paper. We may be so sad we feel crumpled up like a piece of trash. Hold up the paper airplane. But when we hope in the Lord, even when our situation is awful, we will mount on wings like eagles! Sing “Those Who Hope” (Isaiah 40:31). Track 20 Lyrics are in the back of this book.

Lord, thank you for working in all situations. Help us to trust you more and more every day. We worship you, Lord, and we praise you because you are so good. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s Learn the Point!

Preschool Activities, pages 57-58 At this time, have the preschool leader invite the preschoolers to go to their own room for this section of activities. Tear out the Preschool Activities page, and give it to the preschool leader. Have the preschool leader bring the preschoolers back to participate in Let’s Pray! with the older children. If you prefer to keep all the children together, do the starred (*) activities. They will work well with both elementary and preschool children.

Elementary Activities Disappointments Hold up a bag of cookies. • How would you feel if I told you I brought cookies for everyone today? (I’d be excited; it would make me really happy.) Show children a can or bag of peas or other vegetables.

• How would you feel if I gave you this instead? (I’d be disappointed; I actually like vegetables; that wouldn’t be fair.) Set both items aside. Keep those feelings in mind for a minute. There’s a story in the Bible about a man named Jacob who was tricked in a much more serious way than you would have been if I had given you vegetables instead of cookies! Jacob was a guy who wanted to marry a girl named Rachel. But Rachel’s dad would only let Jacob marry her if he agreed to work for him for seven years! Seven years! That’s a long time. Let’s talk about how long that is.

Session 4 • KidsOwn Worship 55 Have kids form pairs and take turns telling their partners what they want most—a new bicycle, for example, or a new video game. Then have kids figure out how old they’ll be in seven years. Have them talk to their partners about what it would be like to have to wait seven years to get what they want.

Seven years is a long time, but Jacob loved Rachel so much that he agreed. But after seven years, instead of keeping his side of the bargain, Rachel’s father tricked Jacob into marrying his other daughter, Leah. When Jacob realized he’d married the wrong person, he protested. Rachel’s father said that Jacob could marry Rachel but he’d have to work another seven years for her! Have the children figure out how old they’d be if they had to work for another seven years for the thing they want most in the world.

• What would it be like to be committed to work for 14 years for what you want? (I wouldn’t want it anymore; that’s too long for a skateboard.) • How do you think Jacob was feeling when he had to work 14 years? (He was probably disappointed; he was feeling frustrated about it.) • Have you ever been promised something and then gotten something else? Tell us how you felt. (My brother said I could play with his good baseball glove, so I was mad when he gave me his old one; my teacher said we could play outside after our test, but we had to play board games in the room.) Maybe you have felt like Jacob—he was disappointed, and I’m sure he was mad. He felt tricked and cheated. He must have worried about how things would turn out. What if Rachel’s father tricked him again? But he worked for another seven years anyway. God blessed Jacob, and he had many children—12 sons in all. Those children grew up and had children. There were so many kids and grandkids and so on that God used all of these children to build a huge nation—Jacob’s children became what we call the 12 tribes of Israel! Jacob had to wait a long time, but he learned that God works in all situations. • Instead of thinking that God isn’t real or that he doesn’t love you when something bad happens to you, what could you think about God? (I could think about everything he’s already done for me; I could ask him to help me get through it.) • What can we learn from Jacob’s situation that can help us? (God makes things work out; we have to be patient.)

(continued on page 59)

56 KidsOwn Worship • Summer Quarter Preschool Activities Session Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel 4 Genesis 29:15-30 Worship Theme: Using Theo

God works in all situations. Consider using Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet today in these ways:

Easy Prep for Leaders • Have Theo lead the preschoolers from the No More Tricks—You’ll need a bag of cookies with at least one cookie for each main worship area to the child and a can of peas or another vegetable. Place the food in a grocery bag near preschool room. you but out of the children’s sight. • Have Theo participate In All Situations—Find four magazine pictures of children in different situations, in the “Worries” activity such as with a pet or having dinner with the family. Think of a brief story to tell by sharing some of his about each picture. For example, if you have a picture of a boy and a dog, you worries. might make up a story about the dog being lost. • See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet Worries—You’ll need six 4-inch squares of colored tissue paper for each child, skit created to tie in to this week’s worship glue, a sheet of construction paper, and a green marker. session.

No More Tricks That wouldn’t be fair, would it? • Have you ever tried to trick someone, or has ALLERGY ALERT Jacob felt tricked someone tricked you? Tell us about it. and cheated. He Today we’re going to hear a Bible story about probably worried a man who was tricked and what God did about how things Be aware that some children about it. Jacob was a young man who loved would turn out. have food allergies that can be a beautiful girl named Rachel. Jacob loved • Have you ever dangerous. Know your children, Rachel so much that he asked her father if he and consult with parents about wondered how could marry her. But Rachel’s dad didn’t just allergies their children may have. something say yes or no. Rachel’s dad said Jacob could Also be sure to read food labels only marry Rachel if he worked for him for bad or sad in carefully as hidden ingredients seven years! your life would can cause allergy-related turn out? For problems. Seven years! That’s a long time. Can you count example, maybe to seven with me? you lost your Good ! But Jacob loved Rachel. He was favorite blanket or someone broke your willing to work seven years for her. After seven special toy. Tell us what happened. years of work, he said, “I’m ready to marry Give children time to respond. Rachel.” God always wants to turn bad things in our But Rachel’s father tricked Jacob! He said Jacob life into something good. Let’s find out about would have to work another seven years if he what happened to Jacob and Rachel. Jacob wanted Rachel! married Rachel and then had to work another Show children the cookies. (Keep the can of peas in the sack.) seven years. God blessed Jacob with lots and lots of sons—12 in all! And the children had • How would you feel if I told you that you children who had children, and so on. God could have a cookie if you cleaned up the used all of Jacob’s children to build a great big room and then I gave you this instead? nation—they became the nation of Israel! That Show children the peas, and give them time to respond. would be like your family having so many kids,

Session 4 • KidsOwn Worship 57 Preschool Activities

No More Tricks (continued) grandkids, great-grandkids, and so on that you God gave good things to Jacob, and he gives formed your own country! Jacob learned that good things to you and me, like these cookies! God works in all situations. As we eat them, let’s remember that God always brings good out of bad.

* In All Situations Lead children to say things such as, “The boy prayed for his dog, and the dog came home,” or “Someone found the dog and Gather children around you, and show them one of the pictures. Have returned him to the boy.” them act out something shown in the picture before you tell them Repeat this process with each picture. the story you’ve thought of. For example, if the picture is of a boy and his dog, have children pretend to pet and take care of a dog. Then God is so good to us! Whenever something bad tell them the story. For example, you might say, “This boy loved his or sad or scary happens to us, God promises to dog. But one day the dog got lost. The boy was very worried, but God make it better. God works in all situations! helped him. How do you think God helped the boy?”

Worries Spread glue in the shape of a flower on Set out the supplies you prepared before the session. the construction paper. Show children how Preschool Sometimes we worry about things. To worry to put their crumpled means to be afraid that something bad might Leader Tip papers close together happen. For example, you might worry about on the glue to create a Be careful not to focus too your pet being safe if it sleeps outside at , much on worry. Instead talk pretty flower. or you might worry about going to sleep in about the good that God your bedroom when it’s dark. Sometimes I When all the tissue brings to each situation. worry about [name something you worry about]. paper has been glued But I’ve learned that God wants me to give my to the construction worries to him to take care of. He works in all paper, draw a stem situations. and leaves with a green marker, and then show the flower to the children. • What are some things you worry about? See? God takes everything in our lives, even Give children time to share their worries. Then give each child our worries, and makes something good out of several squares of colored tissue paper. them. God works in all situations! Hold up one of the pieces of tissue, and crumple it into a ball. Sometimes this is how we feel when we worry, all crumpled and messed up. Crumple each of your papers one at a time, and show me how you feel when you worry. Give children time to crumple their tissue-paper squares. God promises to work in all situations. Listen to what he says in the Bible: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). That means that God will make everything turn out well in the end. Let’s give him our worries.

58 KidsOwn Worship • Summer Quarter (continued from page 56) All of us experience disappointments sometimes. And some ALLERGY ALERT of you, or someone you know, might be facing difficult See Session 1. circumstances in life right now. Maybe your parents are separated or someone in your family is very sick. Maybe someone has died or left home, and you feel sad, worried, and disappointed. Even when we’re disappointed at how things turn out, the way Jacob was, or when things don’t happen the way we want, God is at work in each of us. He promises that in the end everything will turn out great if we love him and trust him. God works in all situations. No more disappointments today! Let’s eat these cookies! Hand out cookies.

* Worry Sculptures Have kids break into small groups of four or five and spread out around the room. Give each group a stack of torn-out magazine pages, scrap paper, or newsprint (not newspaper), and a transparent tape dispenser.

Think about things you worry about. You might think about being with friends this summer, going back to school in the fall, or maybe someone you know who’s sick. Take turns in your group telling one another what you worry about. You can use just one word if you want, such as “school” or “home” or “friends.” Each time you mention something, crumple a piece of paper and toss it in the center of your group. Give children several minutes to do this, and then get their attention.

Work together as a group to make a using the crumpled pieces of paper and tape. The sculptures can be funny or serious. Play “God Works for the Good” (Romans 8:28) in the background as the kids work. Give them four to five minutes Track 5 to complete their sculptures, and then have them stop.

I see some pretty interesting pieces here! • Were you surprised by what you made out of the papers that represented your worries? (Yes, it actually looks kind of cool; yes, I didn’t think crumpled paper could turn into anything.) • How was making the sculptures like what God does with the things that worry and scare us? (God can make something cool out of a bad situation; God can take our fears from us and make something good come out of them.) • Can you think of a time in your life when something happened that seemed bad, or when things seemed to go wrong, but something good came out of the situation? (I was sad when my grandpa died, but my friends were there for me and I grew closer to them; when my parents separated, my dad became a Christian, and now they’re back together.) Session 4 • KidsOwn Worship 59 Give children time to share their experiences. Be prepared to share a situation from your own life. God promises us in Romans 8:28 that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” God wants to do that for you— work in every situation to bring good things into your life. He promises to turn every bad thing into something good. What a promise! Just as you used your worries to make something fun to look at, God wants to turn bad things into good for you and me. We’re going to set our sculptures aside now and use them later during prayer time.

* Everything Will Turn Out Great Sometimes it’s hard for us to see beyond a bad situation and see a possible good ending. For example, if you found out your best friend was talking about you behind your back, that would be a bad thing. Let’s brainstorm together to think of what good could possibly come from that situation. If they need help, prompt kids with such possibilities as maybe finding new friends, talking to the friend and receiving an apology, or finding out it wasn’t true.

Name one or two more situations and brainstorm together about possible good outcomes. Then have kids form small groups of two to four. Give each group an index card with a scenario written on it.

Brainstorm with the people in your group about ways good might come from the situation on your card. After several minutes of brainstorming, give kids an opportunity to share ideas. There are so many ways God can make good things come out of difficult situations! He is creative and loving, and no situation is too difficult for him. Take a few minutes now to pray with the people in your group and thank God for working in all situations. Give kids time to pray.

Good job everyone! God wants us to remember that he works all things out for good for all those who love him. He loves to work in all situations!

60 KidsOwn Worship • Summer Quarter Let’s Pray! The Offering There’s no situation too difficult for God. As the offering bowl comes to each of you, offer God a silent prayer thanking him for turning bad situations in your life into good. Then trust him to work things out in your life. You might have to wait awhile as Jacob did, but God always comes through in the end. He works in all situations. Take the offering.

Called According to His Purpose Read Romans 8:28 together. • What do the words, “for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose,” mean? (If we follow God, he’ll work in our lives; when we love God, he’ll work things out for good.) When you love God, he promises that he’ll work all things out for good in your life. “According to his purpose” means he has a plan and a purpose for you. God’s purpose is for everyone to know and love him and to spend eternity with him in heaven. When we become , we’ve answered God’s call, and we live according to God’s purpose for us. We can praise God because we are called according to his purpose. Give two heart stickers to a child near you.

God wants you to love him and to be in heaven with him. If you’re a Christian, you’ve been called according to God’s purpose. Keep one sticker for yourself. Give the other one to someone else, and say, “You are called according to his purpose.” Continue giving two stickers each to children and saying the words to them until everyone has a heart sticker and has heard someone say, “You are called according to his purpose.”

Have kids hold hands in a circle. Give kids a chance to pray and thank God for calling them and working in their lives.

Lord, you have called us according to your great plan. Help us to love you and trust you to work in every situation in our lives. Amen.

Session 4 • KidsOwn Worship 61 All Things Work Together Let’s thank God for turning our difficult situations and our worries into good in the end. Have children gather in their groups around the sculptures they made earlier. If some children didn’t make sculptures, help them find groups to join. Encourage kids to take turns thanking God for taking care of the different situations and worries that were mentioned when they made the sculptures.

Jesus, thank you for using everything in our lives for good. We give our worries to you, and ask you to work in each of our lives. Amen. Let’s sing “God Works for the Good” to thank God for working in all situations. “Sing “God Works for the Good” (Romans 8:28). Track 5 Lyrics are in the back of this book.

62 KidsOwn Worship • Summer Quarter Encouragement for Leaders Father, please help me to really listen to the children in my class. Give me a tender heart to recognize their needs and to have a deep compassion for each of them. In Jesus’ name, amen.